Recovery on Rannoch
by Matthew G Given
Summary: Second in the Recovery series. Takes place before Building a Batter Galaxy. Follow Shepard and Tali as they build their home and lives on Ranncoh and deal with this issues that the war has left in it's wake. This one is starting out slow but will pick up in future chapters,thanks for reading.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 12**

Tali hit the button for the buzzer on the makeshift home of Admiral Raan,her sort of aunt and the closest thing to living family she had at the moment. The home was small and really just a cargo shuttle converted into a home,like pretty much every other home on Rannoch at that moment. The Quarians and Geth were having to rebuild a planet from scratch so until they finished building real houses old ships and shuttles were having to do. There were the beginnings of a vegetable garden scattered all around the shuttle/house,again like every home on Rannoch the Quarians were having to be farmers and each person had to grow his or her own food,it was the only way they were going to be able to feed everyone for a while. The mix of this with the advanced tech from their ships and suits made life on the planet a strange mix of the most advanced and primitive in the galaxy,still it was what the Quarians had been dreaming of for the past three hundred years so Tali was not going to complain even if she was not much of a farmer. At last the door opened and Tali was face to face with the woman she called Aunty Raan,even through the mask Tali could tell the older woman was smiling.

"It's about time you came to visit me,I hear you and Shepard have been down on the planet for more then two weeks!" Raan said taking tali in a hug which Tali returned.

"Sorry,we have just been extremely busy." Tali replied as Raan motioned for her to enter the house and she did so.

"That's alright I was only teasing child,to tell the truth I have been busy too. I think everyone on Rannoch is busy." The older woman said taking a seat in the makeshift living room of the house/shuttle.

"Yeah I get that feeling every time I turn around,everyone seems busy building and planting,I never thought I would live to see the day." Tali said as she took the seat opposite Raan.

"The pace of it all worries me sometimes. I get the feeling we are racing so fast to build something that we don't care what it is we are building here." Raan confessed in low tone. It was as if she was afraid someone would overhear her,as if admitting that something were not to her liking was some sort of sin for which she could never be forgiven so she tried her best not to be heard confessing to it.

"What do you mean?" Tali asked shocked. She had never heard her aunt openly question the actions of their people before and in truth since the Quarians saw themselves as "One big family" questioning the actions of the "family" was about the worst thing a Quarian could do.

"It's just that we are spreading out so quickly and our government is breaking down but we aren't replacing it with anything. You must have noticed some of this in the reports on the extra net. Can't you see what is happening,child?" Raan said trying to explain. She didn't like being on the defensive but at that moment she felt the need to justify her feelings about what was happening to her people and she hoped Tali would agree with her so she would know that she had at least one ally who felt the same way she did.

"To tell the truth I haven't seen much of the extra net let alone the news since we go here." Tali confessed,she was ashamed to admit it but she really was out of touch with what was going on there on her people's newly won back home world but after hearing what her aunt had to say she wondered if that was a mistake.

"Well I suppose you have had enough on your mind these past few months without thinking about everything that has been going on here." Raan conceded. "Still you haven't noticed anything that troubles you since you arrived on Rannoch?" She asked she was reaching still hoping to find someone to share here fears with.

"Sorry but John and I have mostly had the extra net switched off,there is just so much to do." Tali explained but there was something about her tone that told Raan who had known Tali her whole life that there was more to the story then she was saying,Raan decided to press and find out what it was.

"There is another reason besides being busy isn't there,what is it?,you can tell me." Raan said in a comforting tone of voice.

"We really are busy I mean we have to plant two gardens so that both of us can eat,keep two sets of animals,and then we are also planning the house. We really are busy right now." Tali insisted.

"Alright I can understand that,still it surprises me that you are not taking more of an interest in recent events." Raan said deciding to leave the matter along for the moment.

"So what is going on that has you so worried?" Tali asked not sure if she wanted to know the answer. Part of her had hoped that once the Reapers were gone everyone would just put aside their past differences and work to fix the galaxy's problems,or course in her head she knew things were never that easy still that didn't stop her from hoping that would be the case and now she had the feeling those hopes were about to be shattered.

"It's more like what shouldn't we be worrying about." Raan said beginning to explain. "Our people are spreading out all other the planet without any form of formal government. The only reason land disputes have not broken out is because there are so few of us. In some of the small makeshift cities the admiral are keeping control but now that we are no longer under marshal law they have no legal right to any kind of power."

"Well at least they are keeping chaos from breaking out in the streets." Tali pointed out.

"For now but how long will that last?" Raan asked. "Each admiral has there own ideas about how the planet should be run and how we should handle the Geth,it is only a matter of time before some sort of conflict breaks out."

"Do you really think it could come to civil war?" Tali asked shocked,suck a thing was unheard of for the Quarrians.

"I hope not but if there isn't any kind of check on the power of the admirals I am afraid it could come to that. I pray I am wrong child." Raan and her voice dipped into an almost hushed whisper on the last part.

"I hope you are too." Tali said after a moment and she had started to fidget in her chair the way she did any time she became nervous. "Isn't there any way we can get the admirals to give up their power and start a new government?" Tali asked hopefully.

"The trouble is our people seem to busy to care about starting a new government,we can only put pressure on the admirals to give up power to the new government if there is a new government to give up the power to." Raan pointed out.

"Yeah I guess that is true and I suppose the average person will not see our lack of government as a problem until there is bloodshed." Tali replied sadly as she looked down at the floor.

"It's enough to make me almost wish we hadn't gotten this planet back,maybe we were better off with the fleet." Raan said bitterly.

This shocked Tali,reclaiming Rannoch was the Quarrian dream and she never thought in a million years that she would hear any Quarrian let alone her own aunt describe it as a mistake.

"Aunty Raan,don't say things like that!" Tali scolded. "There may be problems but our people have always remembered that we are a family in the past and I am sure we will again."

"Maybe I am just a depressed old woman but when I see some of our people wanting to be free,others wanting to continue marshal law,some wanting to work with the Geth,and others wanting to destroy them,and everyone calling everyone else traitors for their views it makes me with we were still united as a fleet." Raan explained sadly.

"Oh Aunty you are not old." Tali replied. "I'll admit I have not been paying attention to the news and some of this sounds very worrying but if being with Shepard has taught me nothing else it's that people can over come any problem that is in front of them. I am sure we will get through these problems and then you will see things will be better then ever."

"Well I hope you are right,sorry to spring all this on you child but it has been a long time since I had someone to talk to." Raan said pulling herself together.

"Oh it's fine,I think I am going to start paying some attention to the news. I think some sort of action is going to have to be taken but I am sure it will turn out alright in the end." Tali said thoughtfully.

"Well enough about politics,how are you doing?" Raan asked cheerfully changing the subject.

"Things are going good,we are starting up the farm while drawing up plans for the house." Tali began excitedly glad to have something less depressing to talk about and then added. "By the way thanks for securing that piece of land,it means a lot to both of us."

"Don't mention it,after everything you two have been through you deserve a quiet place of your own." Rann replied. "I imagine switching over to farming is a challenge for both of you." Raan observed.

"Yeah even for Shepard it has been almost twenty years since he was on a farm and that was a human farm and not Rannoch." Tali explained. "I am learning a lot about human farming too. For instance I learned that a cow and a pig are not the same animal,it seems a cow is much larger. I bought what a human told me was a cow on Earth but Shepard informed me it was in fact a pig." Tali raised her hand to her face mask on that last part.

"Can't they be used for the same thing?" Raan asked.

"Not even close it seems for some reason Humans will drink and cook with the milk that comes from a cow but not the milk that comes from a pig." Tali explained to the older woman.

"Milk is milk,that is just silly." Raan stated.

"That is what I said but Shepard ordered a cow to be shipped here from earth. Fortunately money isn't a problem between his pension and selling his life story to a film studio we are pretty well off. Still the pig was not a total loss,Shepard says that when the pig is big enough we can turn it into something called bay kan." Tali said.

"I see didn't anyone on the ship tell you that you had a pig instead of a cow?" Raan asked puzzled.

"Well I didn't tell anyone that I thought it was a cow so I guess they just thought I wanted a pig." Tali explained. "We are also having to import some sort of insects called bees from earth so that the plants Shepard can eat will be able to breed but other then that things seem to be going well." Tali said happily.

"Well your farm is coming along fine but how are the two of you?" Raan asked.

"We are fine." Tali answered in a tone that seemed to indicate there was more to the story and then a second later she added. "For the most part."

"What is wrong child,you sounded so happy the last time you called me?" Raan asked concerned.

"Oh don't get me wrong I am happy and most of the time Shepard is too,in fact I have never seen him so happy but there are problems." Tali explained carefully.

"Like what?" Raan asked.

"Well I think he has been having nightmares,I find him up at odd hours and he sometimes seems lost and worried. To tell the truth I think that is why he doesn't watch the news,I don't think he wants to be reminded of the war." Tali explained quietly.

"Well I think everyone has nightmares." Raan noted. "Have you talked to him about this?"

"I don't know how." Tali admitted suddenly feeling awful about it. "He saw so much more then everyone else and he got closer to the Reapers,I don't know what I could do that would make it better."

"You would be surprised,just knowing you are there and listening could be a big help." Raan said in a motherly tone and she took one of Tali's hands in her own. "Next time you find him up just letting him know you are there."

"Okay I will try,thanks. I haven't had anyone to talk to about this either." Tali said and behind her mask she let out a weak smile. She and Raan then moved on to happier topics like the up coming wedding that Tali explained would be happening once the house was built and the fact that Tali had decided that she wanted to let the Geth into her suit so she would be able to live without it by the time of the wedding but all too soon for Tali's tastes it got late and it was time to go home. Tali hugged her aunt and promised to call more often then she had in the past.

As Tali left her aunt's home she looked up into the sky she admiring the stars,she was sure that she would never get tired of looking up at the stairs of her home world. Still there were troubled waters ahead and Tali had to think about that fact,she decided that she couldn't stand on the sidelines while the fate of her people was decided. She didn't know how but she had to act in some way that would help set up a stable government that would not try to exploit the Geth,she didn't just owe that to her people but to Legion as well. She didn't have a plan and she wasn't sure Shepard would be up to standing beside her,he was still damaged from the war and she didn't want to put any more stress him but she was going to act. She came to this decision and like all others in her life once she had come to it there was no going back. She laughed to herself a little as she climbed into her car,she sure knew how to pick her tasks. She had a lot of work ahead of her.

**Well I hope you like this first chapter. Please leave a review as even the negative ones are a huge help. For anyone wondering what happened to Building a better Galaxy new chapters are coming now that I have my computer up and running but I need to get my head back to where it was a few months ago so to that end I will be editing and fixing mistakes in the past chapters before posting new ones there but I will be writing this story while I do that. Thanks for reading and thanks for your support. Feel free to leave reviews or PM me with any thoughts you have about this story or building a better galaxy. **

**Thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Tali was standing on the edge of the cliff and she had failed,all she could do was listen the sounds of her people dying as they poured into her ears through her headset. The complete heartbreak and sense of failure she was feeling was so great she felt pain all over her body. She just wanted the world to go away so she would no longer have to hear the sounds but at the same time she could not turn away from the horror that had become her world. As the last voices died out and she knew her people had been wiped out by the Geth,the enemy she had failed to protect them from she knew there was only one thing left to do,she ripped off her face mask so she could feel the breeze of what should have been her home world one last time and then flung herself off the cliff. She was the last of the Quarrians and it was time for her to join her people in death.

Tali awoke from the dream not with a start but by slowly coming to. It took her a moment to realize that she was not falling but in he bed in the bedroom of the cargo ship that served as her and Shepard's home at that moment. Sweat was covering her body and it was not just from the dream,the Geth that was in her suit was mimicking an infection to help build up her immune system and it seemed to be giving her a slight fever. The dream had been about just how badly things could have gone if she had not trusted Shepard that day almost half a year before,but it also reminded her that they were not out of the woods yet. If she didn't do something war with the Geth could still break out and that could very well end with the deaths of her people and she would not let that happen. She reached over to the other side of the bed for comfort,she was not well enough to take off her suit and touch Shepard skin to skin but just knowing he was there would help. She found his side of the bed empty,she took a moment to process this and looked around the small room,he was not there. It was dark so it must still be night Tali reasoned,she slowly got out of bed and went looking for Shepard.

It did not take Tali long to search the small cargo ship and she found that he was not there so she decided to step outside. She found that is was that special hour just before dawn when it is still dark but the first hints of sunlight would peek over the tops of the mountains in the distance and give the place a special glow. It had a calming effect on Tali and suddenly she could not wait for the day when she could take her suit off,she wanted to feel the crisp morning air on her face,and she would but not today. It also made her more determined then ever to make sure peace won the day,her people had come too far and gained too much for them to lose it all.

Tali made her way to the large domed green house that contained the plants and animals that Shepard was importing for his own use. Working in the soil there seemed to calm Shepard whenever he became too tense such as after a nightmare. The done was needed to keep the plants and animals themselves safe as well as keep the insects he had to import from interacting with the rest of ecosystem. Tali had to admit that when she had first proposed that they live on Rannoch she had not thought about just how much work it would entail for Shepard and her. He couldn't eat any of the food grown on the planet and his food would have to be grown carefully. Still it seemed to be working out so far and he didn't seem to have a problem with it. Tali hoped one day she would be able to let him know just how much his letting them live on the home world she had spent her life dreaming about meant to her.

The dome was about an acre behind the house and covered about ten acres,it was huge and the first thing that had been constructed when they arrived because Shepard wanted to get to work planting as fast as he could,until the first crops came in he was living off of military ration packs and while a life time spent in the service had taught him how to eat almost anything he still could not wait to taste real food again.

Tali walked through the big door of the dome and into the airlock,she pressed the button and ran the decontamination program to ensure that she didn't carry any live spores or germs that could harm the plants and animals from earth into the dome with her. Once that was done she stepped into the dome. Inside was like a slice of earth all contained in the dome. There were not any plants that could be seen yet besides some grass and trees but it was set up like a farm from earth or one of it's colonies. There was a barn that would hold farm equipment,there was a stall set up to hold the cow once it showed up,the land was laid out to grow corn,wheat,and other plants that would be needed,and off the to the right of the entrance there was a sty for the pig Tali had bought by mistake. That was where she found Shepard. He was standing outside of the sty looking down at the pig.

"Hey couldn't sleep?" Tali asked gently as she walked over and stood beside Shepard.

"Thought of a name for the pig Wilbur." Shepard deflected without looking over at Tali.

Tali decided to try a different approach. "I have been having nightmares,has that been happening to you?"

"Do you ever feel that no matter how much you do it isn't enough and everything is going to fall apart any way?" Shepard's reply was not what Tali had expected but it wasn't a deflection either so she decided to count that as progress.

"Yeah,I know the feeling. It's been getting worse lately." Tali answered with her voice barely above a whisper.

"I just don't know what to do any more to make it better so I guess I just want to avoid thinking about it." Shepard said still looking straight ahead. "When I was in the military there was an enemy I could shoot at,now there isn't anything just selfish scared people and I don't know what to do about that."

"When the news is bad do the nightmares get worse for you too?" Tali asked.

"Yeah,but as I said I don't know what can be done about it." Shepard answered.

Tali looked down and saw that Shepard's hand was resting on the gate of the pig pen,she put her hand on top of his. "You can do this,we can do this we just have to take it one step at a time. Rannoch may be on the verge of civil war but it hasn't happened yet. You taught me that if the worst hasn't happened then there is a chance of stopping it so that is what I am going to do. How about you John?"

For the first time in the conversation Shepard looked over at Tali,his eye had circles under them from lack of sleep but Tali thought she spotted something else in them too,a hint of the fire in them that had stood up to the Reapers and united the galaxy. "I'll be by your side always. I think taking direct action is the only way to make the nightmares go away. We need to bring ourselves up to speed on just what has been going on here. "

"I think that would be a good idea." Tali said smiling behind her mask. "Then what do we do?"

Shepard then seemed to spring to life the way he had during the war when forming a plan of action. "We have to find out where all the Admirals stand and then we have to find out how to put pressure on them to surrender their power. We deal with getting a government in place and then we move on to the next step."

"What is the next step?" Tali asked puzzled she had not thought any farther ahead then getting a civilian government in place.

"We get an official treaty uniting your people with the Geth. I didn't save both races just so they could kill each other later." Shepard said firmly and the old Shepard was back. Seeing that Tali was in trouble had sprung him out of his own depression and into action as it always did.

"Sounds like a plan to me but let's start putting it into action after breakfast." Tali said taking Shepard's hand and leading him out of the dome.

"I think that's a good idea." Shepard replied as they walked out of the dome. By now the sun had risen and it's golden rays were bathing everything. Tali suddenly let out a cough. "Are you okay?" Shepard asked concerned.

"Yeah I am just fine." Tali lied she wanted it to be a surprise that she was setting it up so Shepard wouldn't have to wait years to see her out of her suit every day so she had kept it a secret that she had let a Geth download it's self into her suit.

Tali and Shepard had crossed about have the distance to the cargo ship when they heard a loud boom off in the distance.

"What the hell was that?" Tali asked shocked.

"I don't know but it sounded like it came from the settlement." Shepard said as he scanned the skyline off to the west and then he spotted it,a thick cloud of smoke raising into the sky about ten miles away. When Shepard turned back he saw tali running for the car.

"Come on!" Tali shouted. "There may be people that need our help!" Shepard took off after her. He had no idea what could have happened but he feared the worst.

**Well that is chapter two,i hope you liked it. As always thanks for reading and please leave feedback in the form of a review or a pm. Thank you.**


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